Paper cutter

ABSTRACT

The invention consists of a paper cutter having an endless belt to which is attached a cutting blade.

United States Patent Alden 1451 July 1 1, 1972 541 PAPER CUTTER UNITEDSTATES PATENTS [72] Inventor: Milton Alden, Needham, Mass. 2.792.8905/1957 Dyken ..83/6l4 X 1,015,190 1 1912 Dem 1 ..83/326 [731 Amine 32;mum, l.737,l46 11/1929 Castricum ..s3/3s3 122 Filed: June 3, 19-10FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 211 Appl. No.: 42,947 249,966 2 1912Germany ..s3/3 26 Primary Examiner-Jm M. Meister 52 us. 01 ..s3/167,83/40l 83/523, AtwmeyNorman s. 13164 611 83/524. 83/661, 346/24 5111111.121 ..B26d 5/08 ABSTRACT [58] Field Search The invention consistsofa paper cutter having an endless belt 83/326,614 346/24 16 which isattached :1 Cutting blade.

[56] Relerences Cited 9 Claim, 9 Drawing guns PATENTEDJULH m2 3,675,523

sum 10F 3 fiazmor: Jfilfan mam PATENTEDJUL 1 l 1972 SHEET 30F 3 Q u IPAPER CUTTER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There are many occasions whenit is desirable to shear a strip of paper as it emerges from a machine.This is particularly true in the case of graphic communication where,for instance, it may be desirable to separate the front end of the stripbearing a newly arrived message from the remainder of the strip whichhas yet to receive a message imprint. When messages arrive sporadically,it is desirable to sever each message unit as it arrives, rather thankeep it in a coil with others. An instance of this need is in the casewhere the messages are sales invoices which must be cut into individualslips and stacked for future distribution.

Shears have been developed in the past for this purpose, but havesuffered from a number of deficiencies. They have always beencomplicated and expensive and have required constant maintenance toremain operative. It has always been difficult to change cutting blades.In the case of push button activated shears, they have had a tendency to"repeat" if the operator depressed the push button too long. These andother difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have beenobviated in a novel manner by the present invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide apaper cutter which is simple in nature, rugged in construction,inexpensive to manufacture, and which is capable of a long life ofuseful service with a minimum of maintenance.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a paper cutterwhich will cycle only once in response to the activation of a pushbutton, irrespective of whether or not the push button is continuouslydepressed.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a papercutter which is adapted to be used in a recorder and which has a bladewhich can be changed from the front of the recorder without difficulty.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a paper cutterhaving a movable blade which is mounted on a resilient belt so thatshocks encountered by the blade in cutting are readily absorbed.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a cutter that willoperate equally well on either wet or dry paper.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a cutter forpaper strip in which no part of the shear continuously contacts thestrip, so that there is little wear of the shearing element andinfrequent need to replace it.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of partsset forth in the specification and covered by the claims appendedhereto.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In general, the invention has to do with apaper cutter for use in an apparatus, such as a graphic communicationsrecorder, having a conveyor through which a paper strip passes. Anendless belt is mounted adjacent the conveyor and has a straight runpassing on one side of the strip. Means is provided to drive the beltand a blade is mounted on the belt to engage and shear the strip onoccasion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The character of the invention,however, may be best understood by reference to one of its structuralforms, as illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a perspective view of a recorder having a paper cutter builtin accordance with the principles of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the recorder taken on the lineII-ll of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line III III of FIG.I with the blade in non-cutting position,

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an electrical circuit used in theinvention,

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a blade used in the invention,

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the blade,

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a belt and blade as viewed along theline VII-VII of FIG. 3,

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the invention taken on the line VIII-VIIIof FIG. 3, and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line lX-lX of FIG. 3 with theblade in cutting position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. I,wherein are best shown the general features of the invention, the papercutter, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, is shown in usewith a graphic communications recorder II having a display attachment[2. The recorder is of the type shown and described in the patent ofAlden, U.S. Pat. No. 3,417,405 which issued on Dec. 17, I968. It has ahousing 13 to the bottom edge of which is hingedly attached a cover I4.Formed in the cover is a window I5 from the sides of which extend stubrollers 16 and I7 which act on a paper strip to move it upwardly througha gap between the housing and the upper end of the cover. Hingedlymounted on the front face of the display attachment is a clear plasticplate I8 having outwardly flared ends behind which the paper strippasses.

In FIG. 2, it can be seen that the display attachment [2 is providedwith a pair of spaced, parallel rubber belts 19 mounted on pulleys 21and 22 one which is driven. A straight run of the belt presses againstthe plate 18 to clamp and move a paper strip 23 upwardly. A paper pocket20 is provided to receive the severed portions of paper. The papercutter 10 is mounted partially on the recorder within the attachment l2and partly on the upper edge of the cover 14. Mounted on the side of therecorder is a push button switch 24.

FIG. 3 shows the details of the layout of the paper cutter 10 on theupper surface of the recorder. Mounted on the upper edge of the cover 14is a nylon guide 25 whose rear edge lies on the front side of the paperstrip 23 as it emerges from the recorder. 0n the other side of the paperstrip lies a straight run of a resilient belt 26 which extends in atriangular path around two idler pulleys 27 and 28 and a drive pulley29. A backing plate 3| lies in back of the straight run as the beltproceeds from the pulley 28 to the pulley 27. The belt moves in anotherstraight run from the pulley 27 to the pulley 29; beside this run lies ametal reed 32 having a pivot 33 at one end and a nylon pad 34 at theother end. The reed can be swung about the pivot 33 on occasion by anelectromagnet 35 to a second position (shown in dotted lines) and, inthat position, engages the finger of a micro-switch 36, which is adouble-throw switch, as will be described more fully hereinafter.Attached to the belt and extending outwardly of the loop is a blade 37.A motor 38 for the drive pulley 29 is mounted below the surface withinthe recorder housing.

In FIG. 4 it can be seen that an electrical power source 39 is connectedin series with the push button switch 24 and the motor 38. A normallyclosed contactor 41 of the micro-switch 36 is connected between theswitch 24 and the motor 38. A normally open contactor 42 of the switch36 is connected on one side to a point between the switch 24 and thecontactor 41 and on the other side to one side of the coil of theelectro-magnet 35. The other side of the electro-magnet is connected toa point between the motor 38 and the source 39. In other words, thecontactor 42 and the electro-magnet 35 are connected is series with eachother and in parallel with the series combination of the contactor 41and the motor 38.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the details of the blade 37. It is formed as a sheetmetal stamping of generally trapezoidal shape with a sharped edge 43along an inclined side. A lug 44 is bent upwardly along the opposedside.

FIG. 7 shows a section of the belt 26 which is formed of rubber similarelastomer material so as to have a cylindrical body 45 fromdiametrically opposite sides of which extend integral fingers 46. Thebody is pierced to provide a slot 47 within which lies the blade 37 withits lug 44 on the back side of the belt.

In FIG. 8 it can be seen that the drive pulley 29 consists of two spacedparallel disks 48 and 49 mounted on a vertical shaft 51 which isconnected to he motor 38. Each disk is provided with radially extendingfingers 52 having the same spacing as the fingers 46 on the belt 26, sothat rotation of the shaft 51 causes movement of the belt along itspath.

In H6. 9, it can be seen that the guide 25 is provided with a flaredslot 53 in which the blade 37 slides as it passes along the frontstraight run between the pulley 28 and the pulley 27. The lug 44 of theblade is backed up by the plate 31.

The operation of the apparatus will now be readily understood in view ofthe above description. With the recorder 11 operating, the paper strip23 leaves a gap between the cover 14 and the housing 13 and proceedsupwardly between the forward surface of the display attachment l2 andthe clear plastic plate 18. The movement of the belts 19 along the rearsurface of the plate 18 pulls the paper strip upwardly so that themessage or picture can be seen. If the recorder is no longer receiving acommunication, the paper stops moving. If the operator of the recorderwishes to remove the recently received message from the machine, he usesthe paper cutter to sever the strip and it is then possible to removethe upper end of the strip. He does this by pressing the push buttonswitch 24, which completes a circuit (referring to FIG. 4) from thesource 39, through the switch 24, through the normally closed contactor41, through the motor 38, and back to the source. The energization ofthe motor in this way causes the idler pulley 29 to move the belt 29which carries the blade 37 with it. The blade moves across the paper inthe straight run between the pulleys 28 and 27. As the blade starts thisrun, its outer end engages the guide 25 and, because of the flarednature of the slot 53, is drawn into the slot. The blade would tend todroop on the belt, because the belt is resilient, but the slot 53maintains the blade in a horizontal aspect as it traverses the paper.This same action would take place, even if the paper were not stopped atthe time of the shearing.

When the blade 37 passes around the pulley 27 and starts toward thepulley 29, it strikes the pad 34 on the reed 32. This pivots the reedabout its pivot 33, so that it strikes the switch 36. The normallyclosed contactor 41 is opened, which serves to shut off the motor 38. Atthe same time, the normally open contactor 42 is closed and theelectro-magnet 35 is energized. The electromagnet holds the reed in itssecond" position and the motor remains out of operation. No matter howlong the operator depresses the push button switch 24, the motor willnot operate and the blade will not cut across the paper strip a secondtime. When he removes his finger from the push button switch, however,the electro-magnet circuit will be opened, de-energizing theelectro-magnet, releasing the reed and closing the contactor 4|. Theapparatus is then ready for another cutting cycle.

It will be understood that the push button switch 24 can be replaced bya switch operated by other means, such as from a signal sent along atthe end of the graphic communication. Whatever the length of themessage, the cutter operating signal may originate in the scanner and betransmitted to the recorder as part of the communication. The signal tooperate the cutter can be produced at the scanner by means of a magnetic spot on the copy, a visual spot picked up by optical means, oreven a mechanical notch or hole at the edge of the copy picked up by afeeler switch.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form andconstruction of the invention without departing from the material spiritthereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to theexact fonn herein shown and described, but it is desired to include allsuch as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new anddesired to secure by Letters Patent is:

I claim:

l. A paper cutter, comprising a. a conveyor over which a paper strippasses,

b. an endless belt mounted adjacent the conveyor in the form of a loophaving a straight run lying adjacent the strip, the belt passing aroundthree pulleys arranged in a triangle, the straight run extending betweentwo idler pulleys, while the third pulley is driving,

c. means driving the belt,

d. a blade mounted on the belt, the belt being formed of an elastornermaterial and being provided with a longitudinal slot through which theblade extends, the blade being provided with a lug extendingtransversely of the belt on the side of the belt opposite the side onwhich the cutting edge of the blade is located, and

e. a backing plate is located beside the straight run for engagement bythe lug to prevent the blade from being pushed through the slot when itengaged the paper strip.

2. A paper cutter, comprising a. a conveyor over which a paper strippasses,

b. an endless belt mounted adjacent the conveyor in the form of a loophaving a straight run lying adjacent the strip, the belt passing aroundthree pulleys arranged in a triangle, the straight run extending betweentwo idler pulleys, while the third pulley is driven,

c. means driving the belt, and

d. a blade mounted on the belt, the belt being formed of an elastomermaterial and being provided with a longitudinal slot through which theblade extends,

characterized by the fact that an electric motor is connected to thedriven pulley, a power source is connected in series with the motor andwith a normally open first switch, a normally closed second switch isalso located in series with the first switch, a normally open thirdswitch and the coil of an electromagnet are connected in series witheach other and in parallel with the normally closed second switch andthe motor, and a reed is contacted by the blade during each cycle of thebelt to cause it to move to a second position and operate to open thenormally closed second switch, the energization of the coil causing theelectromagnet to hold the reed in the second position until the firstswitch is released.

3. A paper cutter, comprising a. a conveyor over which a paper strippasses, the conveyor being in the form of a vertically extending loop,

b. an endless belt mounted adjacent the conveyor in the form a loophaving a straight run lying adjacent the strip,

c. means driving the belt,

d. a blade mounted on the belt, and

e. a storage pocket mounted at the upper end of the loop to receiveseparated portions of the paper strip.

4. A paper cutter as recited in claim 3, wherein a guide is mountedparallel to the straight run and is formed with a slot in which theouter end of the blade lies as it passes through the straight run.

5. A paper cutter as recited in claim 4, wherein the slot is flared toallow the blade to enter the slot more easily.

6. A paper cutter as recited in claim 3, wherein the belt passes aroundthree pulleys arranged in a triangle, the straight run extending betweentwo idler pulleys, while the third pulley is driven.

7. A paper cutter as recited in claim 6, wherein the belt is formed ofan elastomer material and is provided with a longitudinal slot throughwhich the blade extends.

8. A paper cutter as recited in claim 7, wherein the blade is providedwith a lug extending transversely of the belt on the side of the beltopposite the side on which the cutting edge of the blade is located, andwherein a backing plate is located beside the straight run forengagement by the lug to prevent the blade from being pushed through theslot when it engages the paper strip.

9. A paper cutter as recited in claim 7, wherein an electric motor isconnected to the driven pulley, wherein a power source is connected inseries with the motor and with a normally open first switch, wherein anormally closed second cause it to move to a second position and operateto open the normally closed second switch, the energization of the coilcausing the electromagnet to hold the reed in the second position untilthe first switch is released.

1. A paper cutter, comprising a. a conveyor over which a paper strippasses, b. an endless belt mounted adjacent the conveyor in the form ofa loop having a straight run lying adjacent the strip, the belt passingaround three pulleys arranged in a triangle, the straight run extendingbetween two idler pulleys, while the third pulley is driving, c. meansdriving the belt, d. a blade mounted on the belt, the belt being formedof an elastomer material and being provided with a longitudinal slotthrough which the blade extends, the blade being provided with a lugextending transversely of the belt on the side of the belt opposite theside on which the cutting edge of the blade is located, and e. a backingplate is located beside the straight run for engagement by the lug toprevent the blade from being pushed through the slot when it engaged thepaper strip.
 2. A paper cutter, comprising a. a conveyor over which apaper strip passes, b. an endless belt mounted adjacent the conveyor inthe form of a loop having a straight run lying adjacent the strip, thebelt passing around three pulleys arranged in a triangle, the straightrun extending between two idler pulleys, while the third pulley isdriven, c. means driving the belt, and d. a blade mounted on the belt,the belt being formed of an elastomer material and being provided with alongitudinal slot through which the blade extends, characterized by thefact that an electric motor is connected to the driven pulley, a powersource is connected in series with the motor and with a normally openfirst switch, a normally closed second switch is also located in serieswith the first switch, a normally open third switch and the coil of anelectromagnet are connected in series with each other and in parallelwith the normally closed second switch and the motor, and a reed iscontacted by the blade during each cycle of the belt to cause it to moveto a second position and operate to open the normally closed secondswitch, the energization of the coil causing the electromagnet to holdthe reed in the second position until the first switch is released.
 3. Apaper cutter, comprising a. a conveyor over which a paper strip passes,the conveyor being in the form of a vertically extending loop, b. anendless belt mounted adjacent the conveyor in the form a loop having astraight run lying adjacent the strip, c. means driving the belt, d. ablade mounted on the belt, and e. a storage pocket mounted at the upperend of the loop to receive separated portions of the paper strip.
 4. Apaper cutter as recited in claim 3, wherein a guide is mounted parallelto the straight run and is formed with a slot in which the outer end ofthe blade lies as it passes through the straight run.
 5. A paper cutteras recited in claim 4, wherein the slot is flared to allow the blade toenter the slot more easily.
 6. A paper cutter as recited in claim 3,wherein the belt passes around three pulleys arranged in a triangle, thestraight run extending between two idler pulleys, while the third pulleyis driven.
 7. A paper cutter as recited in claim 6, wherein the belt isformed of an elastomer material and is proVided with a longitudinal slotthrough which the blade extends.
 8. A paper cutter as recited in claim7, wherein the blade is provided with a lug extending transversely ofthe belt on the side of the belt opposite the side on which the cuttingedge of the blade is located, and wherein a backing plate is locatedbeside the straight run for engagement by the lug to prevent the bladefrom being pushed through the slot when it engages the paper strip.
 9. Apaper cutter as recited in claim 7, wherein an electric motor isconnected to the driven pulley, wherein a power source is connected inseries with the motor and with a normally open first switch, wherein anormally closed second switch is also located in series with the firstswitch, wherein a normally open third switch and the coil of anelectromagnet are connected in series with each other and in parallelwith the normally closed second switch and the motor, and wherein a reedis contacted by the blade during each cycle of the belt to cause it tomove to a second position and operate to open the normally closed secondswitch, the energization of the coil causing the electromagnet to holdthe reed in the second position until the first switch is released.